As more programs are being held in West Papua, the result is the literature level is growing as well. This is an issue that is still being discussed in Papua because it is often found that children and adults are unable to write properly.
Papua land is an area that is full of potential. Located at the eastern end of the territory of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, this makes a lot of uniqueness from here. One of them is with the diversity of human resources and cannot forget about nature.
When it comes to human resources, there are still several sectors that are weak points throughout this area. Difficult access to education makes not all Papuans able to do literature according to the standards of today’s world needs.
And discussing more the glory of Papua, this cannot be separated from the flow of human resources who are willing to learn. This will ultimately bring the learning program organized to run according to expectations and satisfactory results.
Get to Know the Noken Pustaka, One of the West Papua Literature Programs
In the beginning, we would like to discuss one program that we consider quite successful in Papua, its name is Noken Pustaka. This program is a continuation of the Smart Indonesia declaration from President Joko Widodo since 2014.
Although there are many variations of education in West Papua, the public sees this as an opportunity to continue to grow. The potential of the Papuan children is very large and that is what attracts the attention of the volunteers to provide their services.
Noken Pustaka was started in 2015 on the idea of a teacher. This teacher who teaches at Middle School reflects on his 20 years of teaching experience that children in Papua have very low levels of reading skills and do not have adequate supporting facilities.
Misbah then ran the Ayo Reading program by establishing a kind of simple library to attract the attention of young West Papuan children to have a desire to read. And this initial program is considered to have a positive impact.
Children can borrow one book at a time with the borrow and read system. Regarding reading, if children are interested, they will do everything they can to learn, whether it’s asking their parents or studying with their school teacher.
This program has succeeded in attracting the attention of more than 40 volunteers and is getting closer to realizing the dream of Papuans who are more skilled in literature. The local community also gave a positive response by donating facilities several times.
How this West Papua Literature Program Works
But how exactly these programs, both privately held or by the government, all work pretty much in the same way. They will try to make couples of the group and categorize one person into a certain group which is more or less measured based on their literacy ability.
Everyone in West Papua has the opportunity to join the program and also has the opportunity to level up if their results develop. Participating in this program will of course have many benefits, but in terms of how it works, there is still a lot of progress to be made.
Later from the group, it will be determined when the right time to study and where the location makes them comfortable. You can sit on the beach, relax on the terrace of one of the participant’s houses, all of which are the most appropriate for advanced learning levels.
Findings and Facts about West Papua Literature
From the program and how it works, the discussion will now continue towards finding literacy questions in Papua. To what extent can the people of Papua practice basic needs in the education sector and how can they increase productivity in terms of language.
This is an interesting topic of discussion considering the low literacy rate in Papua has made many curious about the results of the research conducted. So, there are 3 total findings and facts that we got about Papuans and their literacy, including:
- There’s a Great Divide
The Great Divide in Papua’s education sector is huge. There are no adequate facilities like other parts of Indonesia, especially Java. A total of 29 regencies in Papua currently do not have schools or at least adequate ones.
- Teacher-Student Ratio is Low
When the research was conducted, we were also aware that there was inequality in the teaching and student sectors. The lack of teaching staff could be what makes literacy in Papua low because they cannot focus on everything.
- School Participation below 90%
Of the total students, not all of them have the desire to develop their literary literacy talents. As many as 90% of the total students are not able to know anything about literature and it may be difficult to realize the dream of a writer.
Indonesia has a very large literary potential. But in terms of practice, not everyone has a great desire to make it happen, including when discussing the issue of Papua. The very low literacy rate in West Papua must be addressed with the right program.